New Year's Kiss
by YoungWriter2005
Summary: Miley, Lilly and Oliver all vow to kiss a stranger by midnight on New Year's Eve. Lilly ends up meeting this incredible guy and kissing him. Problem is, he doesn't know who she is. And who the hell did Miley kiss? Is love in the stars for them? R&R please
1. I Made a Vow at Noon

**HANNAH MONTANA: New Year's Kiss**

**DISCLAIMER: **The author does not own any rights whatsoever to this show, its characters and other fictitious things that are part of it. All rights belong to the Disney Channel and Michael Poryes.

**CHAPTER ONE **

**I Made a Vow at Noon**

_Lilly's Point of View_

"Lunchtime!"

Oddly enough, that was the first word I'd heard on the day before the first day of the year two thousand and eight. I figured I'd wake up at seven-thirty in the morning. Turns out I'd be way behind.

I ran down the stairs to have breakfast. Err, lunch. Brunch. Whatever. My two best friends were already bickering at the dining table, over who got the last piece of last night's pizza.

"And she's awake!" my older brother, Hayden, declared.

"Shut up, Hayden," I told him, taking my seat at the table.

"Hmm," Hayden went on, totally ignoring me. "And she seems to be speaking, too."

I kicked him under the table. "I am _so _not in the mood. It's the last day of the year and I'm not letting any of you spoil it. It's also our first day in New Jersey, so how cool is that?"

I wasn't looking at any of them when I said that—I was too busy staring at the little flecks of snow that were falling one by one right outside the window.

"Got any resolutions yet, Lil?" my female best friend, Miley Stewart, asked me. She made the weirdest New Year's resolutions. One example? _To stop writing songs about Jake Ryan. _

That was her weirdest yet, because right after writing that down, she locked herself up in her room and produced 159 songs, all about Jake Ryan—the hottie-slash-celeb who took over our little town of Seaview for three whole months to lead a "normal" life before kissing Miley and leaving for Romania to film his latest movie, _Teen Gladiators_. My favorite one would have to be _Thundermint Kisses_. It's funny, twisted and romantic all at the same time.

"None so far," I replied, answering the question about New Year's resolutions. "I mean, it's not like I have a _lot _to change about myself."

"Trust me, you do," Hayden piped up.

"Oh, I've got one," my male best friend, Oliver Oken, said. "How about, 'To stop treating Oliver like dirt?' That'd be a good start."

I glared at both of them. "Hmm, I don't know, Ollie, that sounds pretty hard to do." I paused dramatically. "Ooh, why not, 'To end Hayden and Oliver's lives?'"

"That's a good one," Miley agreed. "Kidding," she added when she saw how deathly Oliver's look was when he stared at her.

Hayden knew this was a joke, so he took it lightly. Oliver wasn't exactly the brightest bulb, so he had trouble understanding jokes.

"Gotta go," Hayden told us. "I have to meet an old camp buddy."

"Wait," I said. "Where are mom and dad?"

"Groceries," Hayden replied. And with that, he was off, leaving the three of us.

"I'll tell you guys what," Miley suddenly told Oliver and me. "Before the year ends, let's make a pact."

I looked at her skeptically. "This isn't something out of _American Pie_, is it?"

Miley scoffed, looking disgusted. "No, of course not! I am too young to be a non-virgin, anyway."

"Well, I'm not," Oliver, who's a fifteen-year-old like the rest of us Seaview High freshmen, said.

"As if, Captain Clueless," I told him. I turned to Miley. "Go on about this pact."

Miley took a bite out of her bagel—yes, she's having breakfast for lunch, too—before telling us her oh-so-awesome idea. "Okay, here goes," she said. "You know how people kiss people when the clock strikes twelve on New Year?"

"Oh, do I ever." Oliver was obviously trying to sound smooth. Uh, not working.

I nodded. "And…?"

"Well," Miley went on. "We're doing that this year." Before we could express our thoughts, she cuts to the chase and adds, "Of course, it has to be with someone we don't know."

"Hello, reality check," I said. "We're in a city that's a lot of miles away from Malibu. Of _course _there'll be strangers!"

"That's the whole point," Miley said.

"I like it," was all Oliver said.

"Consider it done," I agreed.

We piled all of our hands together and promised that by the end of the day, we'd have kissed someone smooch-worthy.

ooHMoo

Fast forward to eleven and a half hours later. That's thirty minutes before the big moment, just in case you were wondering.

Just as Miley said earlier, we were all from Malibu, California. We were vacationing in Wyckoff, New Jersey for two weeks. My Dad used to live here. He moved to California to go to UCLA, but at heart he's a true-blue Jersey boy.

"I'll tell you one thing," Oliver told Miley and me, sitting down on a chair across from us. "The New Year's parties here? They don't compare to our slammin' California ones!"

"I have to admit, it _is _pretty dull around here," Miley complained. "Hello, where's the heavy metal rock and roll? And they totally lack a _Guitar Hero _console."

"I second that," I agreed. "But have you even _seen _the boys? I'm in hottie heaven!"

Oliver spotted a potential cheesy pickup line victim and quickly nodded his agreement. "The girls aren't bad, either." He got up to try his luck, but we all knew that he didn't stand a chance.

"I guess that's a good thing," Miley said. "At least we'll be kissing cute strangers. _Really _cute strangers."

"What makes you think they'll want to kiss us?" I asked her.

Miley glanced at the glass of Hawaiian punch in my hand. She quickly spilled it on me. "Oops," she told particularly no one, a little too loudly. "Does anyone have a napkin on them?" She put a slight emphasis on her accent, like that was going to do her any good.

And yet it did.

"I do," one boy said, holding up a packet of tissues.

"I have a napkin," another said.

A dozen more volunteered to help, and Miley grinned. "_That's _what," she told me, answering my question.

I took a napkin from one guy grudgingly. "You know," I told Miley, wiping my shirt. "You didn't have to spill my drink on me to prove your point."

I looked at my watch. _11:47. _That was when it hit me that I wasn't gonna be able to do this thing.

"Miley!" I took my best friend by the shoulders. "I don't know if I can do this at _all_!"

I didn't care when I noticed that several heads turned to look at me with curious looks plastered on them.

"I mean," I went on. "How am I supposed to kiss a freakin' stranger by New Year, huh? That's…" I took another look at my watch. _11:48_. "…twelve minutes from now!"

They started bringing the fireworks out. They only made me feel worse.

"Somebody please shoot me now!" I yelled in frustration.

That's what made everybody stop and look at me.

"What?" I asked them. "Haven't seen a meltdown before?"

The staring went on for a few more seconds, and then all of the people went back to their own worlds.

The clock was ticking, and I was _not _getting any better. "Help me out here, Miles, please?"

I was about to yell more when Oliver returned. "She's playing coy," he said in defense. The girl obviously turned him down. "But she wants me."

"Look, there's nothing bad about this," Miley said. "You're really pretty, Lil, and a great catch. What guy wouldn't want to kiss you?"

"I don't want to kiss her," Oliver piped up matter-of-factly.

"That's because you're her best friend," Miley told him. "If you weren't her best friend and if you were a stranger who lives in New Jersey and not Malibu, would you kiss Lilly?"

Oliver paused, staring intently at me, which made me feel one-hundred-percent self-conscious. "I guess I would," he admitted sheepishly. "Not that I like her, of course. Because I don't. We've had a wonderfully platonic friendship for ten years. I don't want to ruin that." He turned to me. "Look, Lillian, you're a really beautiful person, inside and out. It just takes a doughnut like me to prove it." He paused again. "See? I can speak the truth, and look smart while I'm at it!"

"That's 'cause you _are_ smart when you speak the truth," Miley said. "Anyway, Ollie's right, Lilly. Do I have to repeat it to convince you?"

"I guess not," I told them. "Thanks, you guys. You're the best friends in the world."

"It's just a kiss," Miley said. "Just a kiss."

"I'm gonna go around," I told them. "This couch is making me sick. I'll see you guys later?"

"If you don't," Oliver said. "Look for me at the pool. I'll probably be drowning by then."

I shrugged. "Okay. Bye."

People are still pouring in from every direction. It was a pretty chill and laid-back party. I'd have to take back what I had said and disagree with Miley and Oliver when they said that this party sucked. I would love to have this instead of our _Girls Gone Wild_-esque parties any day.

I was too busy staring into space while walking that I bumped into something.

_Or maybe it was someone?_

"Hey, watch it!"

_Someone. Definitely someone. _

I looked down to see who I'd bumped into. It was a boy.

_Ooh. Make that a really cute someone. _

I helped him up. "Hi. Sorry about that. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's okay." He may have been a tiny lump on the floor when I first laid eyes on him. But when he stood up, he turned out to be seven inches taller than I was. "I'm sorry about my reaction. It's just, I'm having one of those days. I mean, eight other people bumped into me before you did. And I stepped on, err, _something _while walking here. I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or something. My name's Joe, by the way."

We shook hands. Then he ran a hand through his long, dark hair. "How come I've never seen you around here before?"

"We're vacationing," I replied. "From, uh, Malibu."

"Malibu." His voice was not too deep, but it was enough to make me want to melt. I bet he could sing like a rock star. "That's cool. I've never been there. Tell me, is it really summer there all year long?"

"That's quite an exaggeration, don't you think?" I asked. "But, yeah. We got used to more sun."

"Hey… Your shirt is wet," Joe said.

I looked down. "Oh, this? Yeah, don't ask. It's all my best friend's fault."

Joe had dark brown almond eyes that stood out from his gorgeous face. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that he was gorgeous. He was, based from experience, the hottest boy I've ever met. And when he smiles, it's almost like everything in the world stops for a moment just so that everyone would get the chance to see the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Which, in this case, is him.

I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't even notice that they've already begun the countdown.

"Ten… nine… eight…"

"Listen, it was really nice bumping into you," Joe said. His smile immediately melted into a scowl, but I don't think it was because of me. He mumbled something inaudible. "Um. How long are you gonna stay here?"

"Seven… six… five…"

"Two weeks," I replied. I noticed the countdown then.

"Four… three… two…"

"I guess I'll be looking forward to hanging out with you," Joe said. "I mean, if that's cool with you." Another inaudible mumble. "I could maybe show you around, or something, if you want."

"One… Happy New Year!"

The sound of fireworks flooded my ears. My instinct was to look out the window and check them out. And then I saw it.

People kissing here and there.

I remembered the pact instantly.

"Hey, Joe?" I asked, battling in my head whether he counted as a stranger or not, since I already met him.

Joe was smiling at the fireworks. A lock of hair fell into his eyes. "What is it?" he asked absently.

The sight was enough to make me gush.

Gently, I turned his head to face me. He looked surprised, but he showed no sign of annoyance, just a blank, yet surprised, face. I grabbed him by the collar until our faces were three centimeters away.

"I hope this is okay with you," I murmured before brushing my lips against his.

And that was when I decided that I did _not _want to return to sunny Malibu and that I wanted to stay right here, in my place, kissing a stranger for the rest of my life.

(**A/N: **I know I said that it would be Lilly who's going to try to find out who the guy she kissed was, but I changed my mind and made Joe the guesser instead. And I figured I should bring Lilly's brother into this story, since he's always been talked about but never seen. What do you guys think of Hayden? He'd in Jackson's level. For the first time since the last two years that I've been writing for this site, I have written a New Year's special. I'm ecstatic. I hope you guys are, too, so show some love through your **REVIEWS**. They'd be really appreciated. There won't be any Loliver here, and no love triangles, either, just plain relationship problems. Thanks so much for reading! Don't hesitate to put this on alert or on your favorites or both and definitely review.)


	2. Maybe It Was a Big Mistake

**CHAPTER TWO**

**Maybe It Was a Big Mistake**

_Written in the Third Person_

For a short moment, Lilly actually thought that she was dreaming. After all, there she was, having her first New Year's kiss and her first kiss ever in general, and it was with a really, really cute guy.

A really cute guy she didn't know all that well.

But then she felt his hand on her arm, steady yet gentle. Just the touch of it made chills go up and down her spine, over and over. She was beginning to conclude that it would leave a phantom limb, or possibly even a mark. His lips weren't too pressed up against hers, but it was just close enough to be called a lip-lock. The kiss was long, deep and sweet. Lilly almost found it addictive.

_That felt too real to be a dream, _she thought to herself, savoring the moment. Somehow, she knew that it would end all too soon. And then everything came back to her. It was just a little promise she'd made with her best friends. _How middle school is this? It has 'seventh grade' written all over it. _

_And to begin with, we're in the ninth grade. _

Lilly then found herself coming to her senses. In the real world, she would never have agreed to do such a thing. She was Lilly Truscott, skater girl extraordinaire. Not some cheap slut who kisses anyone on New Year's Eve.

_Okay, so slut may not be appropriate, _she thought, _but you get the point. _

She grabbed a hold of his right shoulder, resting her left arm on it. Although the kiss was getting better by the minute, her emotion was beginning to go lower and lower. She felt sick to her stomach, and she realized she had a huge headache.

_I cannot believe I just did that._

Lilly pulled away, not know what to do or say.

_What does Joe think of me now? _

"Um, I—" Joe started to say, but Lilly cut him off. His hand was still holding onto her arm.

"I am so, so sorry," she told him, taking her left arm away from his shoulder. Before she could do anything that would make a fool of herself more, she jerked her arm away and ran.

It wasn't long before a fresh stream of tears was running down her face. She didn't know why she was crying, but somehow it was only right that she was bawling her eyes out at the time.

_Why did I have to meet Joe, anyway? Why couldn't I just grab the next guy I saw and gave him a short kiss, or something? _

Lilly had counted the seconds as they melted into her kiss with Joe. They kissed for thirty-six seconds. To her, it was either too short or too long.

She found herself outside the house. She needed to take a deep breath. The tears were coming like rain now. She started thinking that maybe this kiss on New Year's was bad news; a silly little tradition.

_If this was a 'silly little tradition,' why is it still being carried on until now? _

Lilly was confused. She didn't want to feel that away, especially not after kissing the cutest boy in the world. The kiss itself was enough to make her drool, and yet she blew it.

The moment reminded her of the time her dad tried to teach her how to swim. There she was, standing at the edge of the pool, wondering if it was okay to jump in or not yet. She saw her six-year-old self holding on to her dad's hand as tight as she could, shivering in fear. Her dad told her that it was okay; she didn't need to be afraid. He was right there. So she took the risk and dived in. In a matter of seconds, she was out of the pool again, shedding tears. She's stayed out of the water since.

It was exactly like what just happened to her. She tested the water with both feet, and now she couldn't get out.

"Hey!" Joe called after her, interrupting her thoughts. "Wait up! You haven't told me your name yet!" He ran after her, and stopped short to catch a breath.

Lilly glanced back for a moment. Joe seemed so far away, and yet he was almost just five and a half feet away from her.

"I'm sorry," she said again. "But I have to go." She turned away, running off again.

Lilly blinked back tears as she made her way to the house she was staying in. Closing the door behind her, she sighed deeply.

Hayden was sitting on a couch, watching some late night reruns. "Hey, are you okay, Lil?" he asked.

Lilly sniffled and wiped her tears. "Sure I am," she told him. _Total lie. _"Why wouldn't I be?"

Hayden nodded, turning back to the TV screen. "Okay, Lil. Happy New Year, by the way," he said, sounding genuine and serious. Which was so unlike him. He was always goofing off and joking around.

"Happy New Year," Lilly mumbled. "Thanks for remembering to greet me." She tried her best to sound happy, not dry, dull and lifeless. She climbed up the stairs and entered her room.

She looked out the window and saw several different fireworks go all the way up to the sky before exploding spectacularly.

"What a way to start the New Year," she muttered.

ooHMoo

Miley wasn't doing any better.

Yes, she was the mastermind of this so-called pact, but inside, she was pretty nervous herself.

She went around the house for the last eleven minutes before midnight, trying to calm herself down.

It wasn't working.

Some people were already making out here and there. _Talk about PDA, _Miley thought with a shudder. _I know I'd never do that. _

Miley then went off to the punch bowl and grabbed a plastic cup, filling it with the drink she recently poured on her best friend.

She stayed there for a few more minutes, then she moved on to the living room, which was right in front of the backyard. The backyard, as Oliver had said, had a huge pool. Some boys were getting ready to light fireworks.

For the next few instants, she drowned in her thoughts. _Maybe it was a big mistake, _she mused. _Maybe this pact wasn't such a great idea, after all. _

She was immersed in her thoughts long enough. When she snapped back to attention, a crowd had formed around her, poised and ready to welcome the year two thousand and eight.

They were in the middle of the countdown, in fact.

As soon as the fireworks went off, she forgot she'd thought the pact was not that great, grabbed hold of the closest boy and kissed him. She felt no connection, if she had to be honest.

The weirdest part was, it wasn't any other guy. The boy in question wasn't a stranger at all.

"Jake?" Miley backed away in shock. She was surprised—both because she kissed Jake, and because the kiss didn't have a single spark in its name. "Oh, heavens, no."

"Miley?" Jake Ryan said at the same time, standing frozen in his place. "What are you doing here?"

"The question is, what are _you _doing here," Miley told him coldly. "I mean, besides lying to me and not calling. I thought you were in Romania."

"And I was," Jake claimed. "I just came back."

"I also thought we were going on a date," Miley reminded him. "You know, four months from that Saturday?"

"That was three months ago." Jake looked down.

"Exactly!" Miley grunted. She turned to go. "I am _so _not ready for this conversation. Happy New Year, Jake. I hope you have a good one. Because mine is already ruined."

Miley was already headed for the front door when Jake found another way to stop her. "Why did you kiss me, then?"

Rolling her eyes, Miley turned around. _Alrighty, then. Let's give Jake Ryan a chance to explain himself. Giving him a hard time wouldn't hurt, either, _she thought, walking up to him grudgingly.

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe I had you confused with someone else. Maybe I kissed you and I was planning on hopping on a plane to some foreign country no one's ever heard of right after it, so you would know how _I _felt. Or maybe it was because I'm still so in love with you?"

The last one was not a lie, and Miley knew it in her heart. Of course, she wouldn't dare admit it.

"Really, Jake," Miley was saying now. "What are you doing in New Jersey?"

"Visiting my grandmother," Jake replied. "She's sick. She has some type of cancer, and it's in stage four." He shook his head melancholically. "It may not be long before she leaves us for good."

_Oh, great, _Miley reflected. _Giving me a guilt trip so I'll soften up. Whatever the truth is, it's working. _"Oh, Jake, I'm so sorry," she heard herself say. "I didn't know."

"And filming was extended for three months," Jake went on. "Some parts were shot again because I grew a few inches and they had to take body measurements again, and…you know."

"Why didn't you write?" Miley asked after what seemed like an eternity. "You could have responded to the millions of e-mails that I sent you." Just as Jake was about to respond, "No time," with an indifferent shrug, she cut him off. "Don't you tell me that you lacked time," she said. "I saw the tabloids, Jake; I'm not stupid. I glared at the picture of you buying a latte from Starbucks. I cut out the photo in which you were found 'strolling' around tourist attractions with your freakin' costars and taped it to a corkboard. I throw darts at it daily. I've gotten so good, I actually hit you between the eyes—twice."

"I know you were hurt," Jake said. "And I'm sorry about that. But I couldn't."

"And why not?"

Miley and Jake weren't causing a scene, since everyone's attention was focused on the fireworks, yelling out, "Happy New Year!" and whooping. Miley thanked her lucky stars for that.

Jake swallowed a lump in his throat. "Because I've been missing you so much. I couldn't work up the nerve to even _read _your e-mails. I just couldn't bear hearing about how you're doing without me."

"That's the stupidest excuse I've ever heard." Miley shook her head. "You know what, Jake? I'm done." She turned to walk away once more. "And this time, there's nothing you can do to prove me wrong."

Jake pulled her close by the wrist. "How about this?" he murmured, leaning in close.

It was only a second before he finally kissed her. To Miley, it seemed like an eternity.

Now she knew why the kiss earlier had no sparks—Jake wasn't kissing back. But now that he was, Miley felt like she was suspended on air.

But now it was _her _turn not to kiss back.

She pulled away. "I'm sorry, Jake," she said. "Really, I am. I once thought that you and I, we were perfect. But all that changed a long time ago. Sure, I haven't moved on. But I'm not ready to get hurt again, either. Goodbye, Jake. For good."

Miley hadn't expected to even see Jake in New Jersey in the first place. True, she still cared, but she willed herself not to. She didn't _want _to care. She just _did. _

"But, Miley, I—" Jake began. But he was too late.

Miley was gone.

(**A/N: **Perhaps Miley and Lilly are right—maybe this little vow they made was bound to worsen their lives, not make them feel oh-so-great. But how's Oliver doing? Any ideas on who he kisses? Miley and the rest of you will find out soon. And Lilly also gets the surprise of her life when she realizes that Hayden is…and Joe is… Oh, nevermind. You'll know when you read the following chapters. So stay tuned! Oh, and by the way, I do _not _write Niley stories anymore. They're just not right for each other, I guess—maybe in fanfics, especially really good stories, but in real life? Uh-uh. So how was this chapter? Good, I hope. My New Year, by the way, pretty much rocked, until there was that darned blackout. Two parts of town literally lost power, because of some dude who accidentally aimed his fireworks towards a power source. At least, that's what I heard. The fireworks were awesome, though. Please review! Thanks for the awesome first-chapter reviews. They willed me to go on and write this second one!)


	3. Misery, Doom and the Morning After

**CHAPTER THREE**

**Misery, Doom and the Morning After**

_Miley's Point of View_

Sweet niblets.

I _so_ needed to head to a spa and clear my mind.

I mean, really, who did that hotshot actor and egomaniac of a Jake Ryan think he was, anyway? The love of my double pop star and high school freshman life? _Please. _

Okay, okay, fine, I'll admit. So maybe he _was _the love of my surely over and done for life. Still, that didn't give him the right to manipulate me like he did.

Right after my encounter with him, I ran and ran. It wasn't until I reached the bathroom that I stopped to a halt.

I looked into the mirror. Tears flooded my eyes. I hadn't even realized that I cried.

"Great," I muttered to myself. "Way to look like the fool that you are, Stewart."

Reluctantly, I washed my melted makeup off and sighed. "Okay," I asked the girl in the mirror (no, this is not a weak and lame Britney Spears pun). "What now?"

Part of me said that I should go out and try to have fun. Another said that I should try to make sense of things with Jake. Or maybe I should just stay in the bathroom till the next day.

One thing I certainly _won't _do is to go home.

And then, just as I was about to make my decision, came three loud knocks at the door. "Hello? Is anybody there?" The voice sounded forced, like the person was trying very hard to stop something.

I opened the door. "Sorry, I was having a minor—"

The boy was at my feet, looking wasted and done for. And then, the next thing I know, the next-worst thing to happen that day had taken place.

He vomited all over me, my dress and my shoes.

"…crisis," I finished, complete with a disgusted eye-roll. "Um, make that a _major _crisis."

"Whoa, sorry, dude," the person who'd just spit out his entire dinner all over me said in this annoying skateboarder-ish accent—the one Lilly usually used when she drags me to the skate park back in Malibu. "Don't freak out or anything."

"Don't…freak…_out_?!" was what I almost yelled. Instead, I let it out in the calmest way possible when everything is just going so, so wrong. "Look, mister, my almost-boyfriend and I bumped into each other here and I…"

That was all I remembered saying before exploding into a series of frustrated yells and crying out every cussword known to man.

Okay, for a Southern girl and a world pop sensation, that's not exactly the most righteous and graceful thing. But I was put in a seriously annoying situation and I can't help it.

"I'm-I'm not exactly the-the best v-venting buddy," Vomit Guy said, right after throwing up some more in the toilet and washing up.

I groaned in the loudest way possible and just walked out of the bathroom, deciding on going home.

"A guy threw up on me," I told every single person, whoever he or she was, who'd stared at me in shock or disgust, over and over again. Really, I was like a broken vinyl record, or something.

I headed for the coat rack at the back of the door of the closet that was closest to the front door.

I just went to grab my coat. No other intention, whatsoever.

So, technically, I didn't plan on walking on a couple that was totally playing tonsil hockey, right there in the darkened closet itself.

"Oh, gosh," I said. "I am so sorry. I just went to grab my coat…" I got a closer look at the male in the closet. "What the…" I couldn't believe my eyes. "Oliver?!"

"Miley," Oliver stated, his tone unable to give away how he was feeling at the time.

I, for one, felt embarrassed, weirded out and just plain dazed.

"What are you doing here?" we said at the same time. Although his sentence sounded more like a statement than a question.

I stared at them for a few more seconds. The girl was really pretty, although she could use a little attendance to Charm School. And while I was happy for them, I just needed to get some rest. "I was just leaving," I finally replied after a while. "I'll see you later. Happy…um, kissing." I grabbed my coat and went off.

The scene was way too awkward to bear with: Me, Miley, who had a guy throw up all over her; Oliver, the doughnut who's exceptionally unlucky in love, and who just got his first makeout session; and his makeout buddy, the girl who needed to replace Mia Thermopolis in getting princess lessons from the Dowager Princess of Genovia.

"Miley, wait—" Oliver started to say, but he was too late.

"Later, Oliver," I called over my shoulder as I went through the front door.

The waterworks began all over again during the short yet imaginatively long walk home. Or rather, the house we were staying in.

Lilly's older brother was still wide awake, yelling out cheers triumphantly, at the couch when I got there. He was watching some football game. I couldn't relate.

"Don't ask," I said when he saw me. "Long story."

I went straight to the bathroom and got to work. Cleaning puke out from those sequins shouldn't take long…

…much.

ooHMoo

Both Lilly and I were looking bummed during breakfast the next day. Hayden looked confused, and Oliver looked like he could float off to Wonderland any second.

Lilly and Hayden's parents, however, were still asleep.

"Oliver," I called to him. He didn't respond. "Oliver," I tried again. Still no response. "Oliver!" I grabbed the box of Honey Combs and started pelting him with some of those.

The daydream-ish look on his face finally disappeared after a while. "What?" he asked. "Did somebody break in?" He struck a pose, as if getting ready to karate-chop the imaginary intruder.

"Uh, yeah," I said. "In fact, they got away. One of them had the huge tub of hair gel that you were guarding with your life in hand."

It's true. Oliver lives on hair gel. If it was a type of drug, he'd probably need rehab, or he'd be in Hair Gel-aholics Anonymous by now.

Oliver jumped up. Huh. He seemed to believe every word I'd just said. "Those robbers are going down!" he declared, forming a fist. He grabbed his glass of orange juice, chugged it down until there was none, set it back down on the table, and rolled his sleeves up. "Lemme at 'em! Lemme at 'em!"

"Relax, Oliver, she's just playing with you," Lilly told him dully. "Your hair gel's safe and sound."

"But I though hair gels are unable to speak?" Oliver inquired. "That makes them highly unable to make a sound. Therefore, they're just safe, not sound."

I shook my head at him. The shaking of heads continued for a few more seconds, until I could sense Oliver was getting way uncomfortable, and then I finally went, "Okay, you doughnut. What's her name?"

"Her name?" Oliver scratched his head. "I don't even know who 'she' is. Is this another brainteaser, or something?"

"I think you know fairly well who I'm talking about," I said. "You know, the girl you were locking lips with last night?"

Oliver started looking like a lovesick puppy all over again. "Oh. Yeah. Her name's Alex."

"Wait," Lilly interrupted. "Are you guys trying to tell me that _Oliver _made out with somebody last night?"

"Yes," Oliver replied, a little too proudly. Oh, well. Who can blame him? God love him, the poor boy's been waiting for this for a long, long time.

"How about you, Cinderella?" I turned to her. "Who was _your _prince last night?"

Lilly didn't respond. She just drew circles in her cereal with her spoon. It felt like an eternity before she turned around and gushed, "His name is Joe and he's really, really cute!" Then she sunk back into her chair and took a spoonful of Lucky Charms. "Problem is, he doesn't know who I am and I ran away from him."

"She met her curfew well last night," Hayden added.

"And now I can't stop thinking about him." Lilly shot her older brother a glare. She paused, as if searching for something. She felt around her wrist. "Um, has anybody seen my lucky skateboard charm bracelet?"

"You mean the one you won during your first skateboarding competition?" Hayden asked. "The last time I saw it, you were toying with it on the way here."

"Oh, no," Lilly let out. "I _knew _I dropped something at the party! How will I get it back now?"

"Chances are, it's not there anymore," I said, looking at reality. "Look, I'll buy you a new one when we get home, okay? I'm really sorry, Lilly."

"It's okay." Lilly shook her head. "It never brought me much luck anyway."

I knew this was a lie. Lilly loved that bracelet dearly.

"At least you got a night that's a bit better than mine was," I told her reassuringly. "I kissed a Jake and I got vomited on. It was the _worst_."

"You kissed Jake?" Lilly asked. "No way."

"No," I said, trying to cover this up. I never really planned on telling them. "I said I kissed a _jerk_."

"You _clearly _said that you kissed Jake," Lilly pointed out. "Was it _our _Jake, as in Jake Ryan?"

"I don't know what you two are talking about," Hayden cut in. "What's with all those kisses? And, yeah, Miley, you said you kissed a Jake. Note the 'a,' which wasn't supposed to be there. It makes the sentence have improper grammar."

Sometimes, Hayden can be such a pain-in-the-neck know-it-all. He's exceptionally a whiz at English.

"We made a pact," Oliver explained. "To kiss a stranger by midnight."

"Miley's wasn't a stranger." Hayden knew of my bizarre love story with Jake.

I gave up. "Okay, _fine. _So maybe I _did _kiss Jake. I didn't mean to! I just grabbed the closest boy there was."

"What's he doing here?" Lilly asked.

"Did you talk?" Oliver wanted to know.

"I bet it was awkward," Hayden said.

"Enough about him, okay?" I told them. "I just want to forget about him."

"Something tells me it didn't go so well," Oliver told Lilly.

"You think?" I said sarcastically.

Before I could tell him off any more, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Hayden got up and walked off to the living room.

"Looks like the only part of the pact that went well was Oliver's," Lilly said. "Which is totally, completely, absolutely off."

"I know," Oliver and I replied at the same time. I don't need to tell you that we had different tones of voices, do I?

"Joey!" I heard Hayden say in the living room. "You didn't tell me you lived next door! Come in!" There was a pause. "You must be Nick. And, uh, Kevin, right? I'm Hayden. You probably heard about Joe's camp buddy, the one that fell off the log and into the lake during one of the activities. That's me."

Laughter filled the living room.

"Who are those guys?" Oliver asked.

"Maybe the ones living next door," Lilly replied.

I stood up. "Come on, you two," I told them. "Let's welcome them. It ain't polite if we're just sittin' here."

"And the zombie of the Southern belle resurfaces," Oliver said. He and Lilly followed me into the living room.

"Oh, hey, Lil!" Hayden said to his little sister. "Come meet our next-door neighbors and my camp buddy." He made the introductions. "This is Nick." He pointed to a boy with curly brown hair, big brown eyes and a shy smile. Then he moved on to a slightly taller guy with equally brownish curly hair (although it was unevenly not-so-curly at one side), darker eyes and an outgoing smile. "This is Kevin." Finally, he gestured to a boy with jet-black hair like that of a character from Japanese cartoons called _anime. _He was the tallest (and they were all tall), and he was looking the other way. "And finally, this is Joe, my camp buddy."

Joe turned around. "Oh. Hi."

I heard Lilly suck in a breath. I knew right away that _this _Joe might be _the _Joe she was talking about.

It's official: Without that lucky charm bracelet, Lilly's a bad luck magnet.

(**A/N: **So sorry for the late update. Computer problems—gotta hate 'em. Oh, boy. Not only is Joe Lilly's neighbor for two weeks, he's also Hayden's old campmate! How will this go? Catch more of their encounter in the next chapter, _How Close is Too Close_! For now, please review! Thanks!)


	4. How Close is Too Close

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**How Close is **_**Too **_**Close?**

_Lilly's Point of View_

Joe was standing in my temporary living room. Right this very second. It gave me stomach lurches just thinking about it.

He looked unbearably hot—and totally uncomfortable. The sight of it was enough to make me get a little light-headed. As for me, I was staring him down like he was a nightmare slowly unfolding before my eyes; like he was my biggest fear. I must have looked really pitiful, because the next thing I knew, Hayden was in front of me, looking unusually concerned.

I looked around the room with a confused, weirded out, seemingly annoyed look on my face. My vision was blurred and my eyes felt like someone put pepper spray into them.

"If this answers the question that I think I see in your eyes, our neighbors—well, just for now, anyway—already left," Miley said quietly.

It suddenly all came rushing back, hitting me like a brick in the face.

"I was so out of it, wasn't I?" I asked, jumping up from the couch I'd been sitting in.

"So I take it that this Joe was _the _Joe that you kissed?" Hayden inquired. "This is too weird for words," I heard him mutter to himself.

I couldn't blame him.

At all.

I asked them particularly what happened during the boys' visit. Apparently, the story started with Hayden's continuation of the introductions. He was all, "This is my younger sibling, Lilly, and these are her friends, Miley and Oliver. Um, they count as my friends, too."

I interrupted Miley, who was giving me the play-by-play, with a, "Okay, that was so lame!"

Hayden shot me a glare. "What else was I supposed to say."

"Can you two Truscotts just stop arguing?" Miley asked, annoyed with the rude interruptions. When Hayden and I both crossed our arms in front of our chests and nodded, she smiled briefly. "Okay, good. Moving on…"

We all supposedly shook hands with one another. When Joe and I shook hands, Miley said, we avoided each other's gaze. That must have given me away in an instant.

"Mom made us go here," Kevin said (at least, that's what I was told he said), "to bring you these." He would soon whip out a plate of chocolate chip and M&M's cookies (which are standard "Welcome, neighbor!" objects) and hand them over. "I wasn't finished straightening my hair—note the uneven styles—but when our mother sets her mind to something, she can't be stopped."

"I noticed," Hayden supposedly told him. "Well, it was nice of you guys to stop by. We'll be looking forward to hanging out with you."

The boys, Hayden said, nodded with smiles.

"Yeah, thanks," I added in a dry, lifeless tone, according to Oliver. He even added that he wondered if I'd turned into a zombie.

"And please, please don't hesitate to bring more cookies," Oliver, ever Mr. Random, said, munching on one. "These are delicious." Miley told me this part of the encounter with Nick, Joe and Kevin. It was all very typical to me—when did Oliver say something of significance, anyway? Well, he did, sometimes, but most of the time, I end up wondering why the boy even opens his mouth in the first place.

"Oh, really?" Nick had asked. "Our mom makes them. She added the M&M's. She's kind of creative that way."

Oliver nodded, taking a bite off a cookie. "They taste good. In my humble opinion, every cookie should be made this way."

Joe would join in their cookie convo, and it would go on for a few more seconds, with talks of everything cookie-related (even some that are far from the cookie subject), from chocolate chips to oatmeal to the dough to Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream to Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream to ice cream toppings to M&M's and finally, back to the cookies. At that point, even Hayden and Miley and Kevin had joined, but not me, because I'd been too busy getting caught up in the situation.

Kevin would eventually notice the strange look I was giving Joe, who was stating a speech on the joys of having strawberries, bananas and Cocoa Pebbles on ice cream. According to Hayden, they asked if I was okay and I responded with a nod, followed by me telling them that I just needed to sit down for a sec. I would eventually stare out the window for the rest of their visit.

I know. It was so pathetic of me, even _I _would roll my eyes.

"I _have _to go over there," I said, taking some steps to the front door and grasping the knob. "You know, to apologize? It must have looked so rude. And I don't ever want to look rude. Ever."

Before anyone can stop me, I turned the knob, walked out and walked over to their porch and rang their doorbell.

Nick got the door. "Oh, hey," he greeted with a good-natured smile. He looked surprised upon seeing me.

"Hi," I told him. "Listen, I'm so sorry for spacing out earlier. That kind of happens to me sometimes." It surprised me how easily I could talk to him.

"Nick!" I heard someone say in the background. "Who is that you're talking to?"

"It's our new next-door neighbor, Lilly!" Nick yelled back.

"Well, just for two weeks," I said.

All of a sudden, Joe appeared at his side, shoving him lightly to make room for himself. "Hi," he said flatly, but with a huge smile. "What'cha doin' here?" His mouth was full of his mom's cookies.

"You're kind of sending me mixed signals," I replied. "But, anyway, yeah, hello."

"I have to get back to that song…" Nick muttered, turning around. "It was nice seeing you, Lilly. And about the spacing out thing? Don't worry about it. I do that all the time myself." He waved. "See you later." Then he walked away, singing about flying and time and knocking on something.

I nodded. "Bye."

"Hi," Joe tried again.

I smiled, although sheepishly, in return. I couldn't speak; I was so tongue-tied. Wouldn't you be, too, if you were standing in front of a boy you just kissed and ran away from, let alone a really cute one?

Joe sighed. "It was you, wasn't it?"

"Me?" I faked innocence and not having a clue about what he was asking, even though I obviously did. It wasn't working.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about—you're the girl at that New Year's party yesterday. The one who kissed me and ran away without telling me her name."

I gave up. Like I could fool anyone, anyway. I was the world's worst liar—and that's the truth. Ah, irony. "Fine, it _was _me."

"So, why?" Joe asked.

"You know," I said, "asking me one-liners without enough details is going to make this conversation a really long one. And as of now, I'm just trying _very _hard not to wish that the ground would open up and swallow me in whole."

Joe grinned, walking out and closing the door behind him. "Sorry," he said. "Why did you run away?"

"I guess it felt sort of weird to me," I replied. "I mean, I've never done that kiss-someone-on-New-Year's thing before."

"Could've fooled me," Joe stated. "It doesn't look like it," he went on. "When you kissed me, the first thing that came to my mind was, '_Wow_.'"

I tried to ignore the fact that I was probably blushing so hard, my face looked like a fresh, ripe, juicy tomato. "When I pulled you by the collar—sorry about that, by the way—and planted one on you, it didn't feel weird at all. It felt like I've done it loads of times before. It gave me a high like now other."

"Should it be weird that I feel like I've known you for such a long time?" Joe asked. He shrugged, smiling. "It doesn't make me feel uncomfortable telling you all about that, uh, kiss."

"Piece of advice?" was my reply. "Stop using pickup lines on me. It may work on girls around here, but for me? Heck, no."

"That's not a pickup line." Joe looked at his feet. He was wearing navy blue Converses.

I sighed, after a seemingly long and awkward pause. "I guess we should, like, start over." I held my hand out. "Hi. I'm Lilly Truscott."

"I'm Joe Jonas." With a smile, Joe shook my hand. "Pleased to meet you, Lilly."

"So you're really Hayden's camp bud, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah," Joe said. "We both went to Camp Phoenix during the summer of 1999. You're his younger sister, right? By what, two to four minutes?"

I raised my eyebrows. "What? No, we're not twins. He's older by two and a half years."

"I could've sworn you were fraternal twins. You look so much alike."

"I've always been told that I could pretend to be Hayden if I chopped of my hair and grew a few inches," I said. "But when you look inside our minds, you'd wonder why we even bother to share the same home. We have different likes and dislikes. The only thing we have in common is our interest in skateboarding."

"Joe!" I heard Kevin's muffled voice from the inside of the house call out. "The song! We need your ideas."

"I'm coming!" Joe yelled back. He turned back to me, smiling. "Well, it was nice talking to you," he said, "and getting to know you better." He shot me a salute. "Later, Lilly."

I waved, smiling back. "Yeah, same here."

Joe smiled once again before disappearing behind the door that led to his house.

I felt like I was walking on air as I returned to the house I was staying in. When I entered, Ollie, Miles and Hayden stared at me expectantly.

"She wasn't feeling well earlier," Oliver told them. "Now, she's sick—lovesick."

"I don't know," Hayden shot back. "Maybe she's under what I like to call the 'Joe Effect.' Tons of girls fell into it back at Camp Phoenix. As a ten-year-old, Joe sure had the charm he still holds now."

"And you're okay with it?" Miley asked.

Hayden shook his head, although showing no sign of annoyance. "No, not really. I don't think I'd call it that."

Never mind that they were talking about me as if I wasn't there. I didn't care.

Somehow, the only thing in my mind then was Joe.

(**A/N: **Lilly's falling for Joe—hard! How will it go? Check the next chapter for the deets! Sorry for the late update. I've been busy with school. Soo sorry. Thanks for the reviews! I love writing for you guys. Please review this one! Thanks.)


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